George Scott, Former Red Sox First Baseman, Has Died

July 29, 2013

The Washington County, Miss., coroner announced Monday that former Red Sox first baseman George Scott died. He was 69.

No cause of death was reported.

Scott played 14 major league seasons. He came up with the Red Sox in 1966 and played for the American League champion- Red Sox in 1967 and led the American League in home runs (36), RBI (109) and total bases (318) with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1975. He also played for the Yankees and the Royals.

He finished his career in 1979 with 271 homers. He is credited with coining the term "taters" for home runs. He won eight gold gloves at first base. Scott also became the second rookie first baseman ever to start the All-Star Game.

After his major league career was over, Scott played and managed in Mexico.

He was inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2006.

Here is the Red Sox press release on Scott:

RED SOX MOURN THE PASSING OF GEORGE SCOTT

Slugging Gold Glove First Baseman was Red Sox Hall of Famer

BOSTON, MA—TheRed Sox today learned of the passing of George “Boomer” Scott, a three-time All-Star and eight-time Rawlings Gold Glove winner at first base over 14 big league seasons, including nine years with the Red Sox. His family confirmed that he died of natural causes in his hometown of Greenville, MS.

Elected to the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2006, Scott is the club’s all-time team leader at first base with 988 games and 944 starts. He enjoyed two stints with Boston, 1966-1971 and 1977-79, and over his nine-year Red Sox career played in 1,192 games, 14th on the club’s all-time list.

Blessed with a memorable sense of humor, Scott hit 154 home runs, or “taters” as he referred to them, while with the Red Sox. He batted .257 with 158 doubles, 38 triples, and 562 RBI.

“In losing George Scott, we have lost one of the most talented, colorful, and popular players in our history,” said Dick Bresciani, the Red Sox’ Vice President/Emeritus and Team Historian, who has been with the club since 1972. “He had great power and agility, with a large personality and a large physical stature. He could light up a clubhouse with his smile, his laugh, and his humor—and he was the best defensive first baseman I have ever seen. We will miss him, and we send our condolences to his family.”

Scott also played five seasons for the Milwaukee Brewers (1972-76) and finished his career with the Kansas City Royals and the New York Yankees, both in 1979, his final major league season. In his big league career, he hit 271 career home runs and drove in 1,051 runs.

Signed by the Red Sox as an amateur free agent in 1962, Scott made his major league debut with an outstanding 1966 season in which he was an All-Star starter. He amassed 27 home runs and 90 RBI, still the second-most for a Red Sox player in his first major league season behind Ted Williams in 1939 (31 HR, 145 RBI).

He played all 162 games in 1966, still the last time a Red Sox infielder played every game in a season.

In the “Impossible Dream” season of 1967, Scott hit .303, fourth best in the American League, and hit .326 from the start of August through the end of that pennant-winning season. He played every inning of all seven World Series games.

Traded to the Brewers as part of a 10-player deal following the 1971 season, he played in Milwaukee for five years. He set career highs with the Brewers in 1975 with 36 home runs (tied for the league lead with Reggie Jackson) and 109 RBI, tops in the American League. That season was his second as an All-Star.

Reacquired by the Red Sox from Milwaukee with Bernie Carbo for Cecil Cooper December 6, 1976, he had another All-Star season for Boston in 1977, when he hit 33 homers and had 95 RBI. He tied a club record that still stands with a home run in five straight games in June 1977. In that year’s Midsummer Classic at Yankee Stadium, he homered off Goose Gossage.

His three Rawlings Gold Glove Awards with the Red Sox are the most in team history for a first baseman, and his eight total are third all-time among first basemen behind Keith Hernandez (11) and Don Mattingly (9).

A fan favorite, Scott was named to the 100th Anniversary All-Fenway Team in 2012 (Second Reserve).

Memorial arrangements are incomplete. A video tribute has been posted on redsox.com/soxinsite. The Red Sox will have a moment of silence in his memory before tonight’s game, which is scheduled to begin against the Tampa Bay Rays at 6:10 p.m.